System for maintaining large numbers of handheld electronic devices

ABSTRACT

A system for maintaining a large number of Handheld Electronic Devices (HEDs) includes a drawer having a divider structure configured to define compartments that are sized to hold the HEDs while the HEDs are stored in the drawer. A 20 port USB hub is provided in the drawer so that 20 HEDs may be connected to the USB hub while stored in the drawer. The USB hub allows the HEDs to be charged at a low rate while being synchronized with a computer and at a high rate when not being synchronized. The USB hub is designed using a tree structure of available USB hub chips to enable a larger number of USB ports. A microcontroller is provided to control the manner in which the computer is allowed to recognize the HEDs connected to the USB ports.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/978,313, filed Oct. 29, 2007, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/856,257, filed Nov. 2, 2006, U.S.Design patent application No. 29/273,354, filed Mar. 2, 2007, and U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/936,834, filed Jun. 22, 2007. Thecontent of each of these applications is hereby incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a system for maintaining a large numberof Handheld Electronic Devices (HEDs).

2. Description of the Related Art

Portable handheld devices that are capable of storing content such asmusic and video have recently become popular. For example, devices suchas the iPOD™ from Apple are popular devices that are commonly used tostore music and/or video files. The music may then be played on demandeither through earphones, or through another stereo device via a dockingstation. As used herein, the term “Handheld Electronic Device or (HED)”will be used to refer to a portable and handheld digital electronicdevice for recording, organizing, transmitting, manipulating andreviewing text, data, audio, image, and video files.

Although iPODs and other HEDs were initially made popular in connectionwith users that wanted to be able to have a portable music library, suchHEDs are now being used for other purposes. For example, museums arestarting to load audio and/or audio/video museum tours on HEDs such asiPODs so that users can listen to and/or watch a guided program as theyproceed through the museum. Such guided programs are commonly used toenable a person knowledgeable about art to narrate a guided tour onetime, and then enable museum patrons to obtain the benefit of the guidedtour at a later time by listening to the pre-recorded guided tour.

In addition to museums, other forums are also beginning to use HEDs suchas iPODs to provide users with content. For example, a conference mayprovide a conference attendee with a HED to provide the conferenceattendees with information about the conference. Similarly, a resort mayprovide a person with a HED when the person arrives at the resort toenable the person to listen to a program about the resort.

As companies, museums, individuals, and other institutions start tocollect large numbers of HEDs, the manner in which the HEDs aremaintained becomes important. For example, if a museum would like toopen a new exhibit and provide a new guided program for the new exhibit,the museum will need to load new content onto their HEDs. Similarly, themuseum will need to recharge the HED batteries periodically to enablethe HEDs to be capable of functioning as the users roam throughout themuseum. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system thatwould enable users to maintain a large number of Handheld ElectronicDevices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system for maintaining a large number of Handheld Electronic Devicesincludes a drawer having circuitry configured to connect to the HandheldElectronic Devices to enable the HEDs to be charged and synchronized.The drawer may have a divider structure configured to createcompartments configured to hold HEDs in the drawer to prevent them fromsliding around in the drawer. In one embodiment, the drawer structureincludes a central area configured to hold the circuitry for chargingand synchronizing the HEDs, and the divider structure is configured toprovide slots on either side of the central area so that two rows ofHEDs may be contained in each drawer. The HEDs may be connected to thecircuitry via Universal Serial Bus (USB) or other connectors, to enablethe HEDs to receive power from the circuitry and to receive content viathe circuitry.

The circuitry may enable signals from a laptop computer or othercomputer to be used to provide new data to the HEDs so that the HEDs maybe synchronized to include new information as directed by the laptopcomputer. The circuitry may be implemented as a 20 port USB hub so that20 HEDs may be connected to the USB hub while stored in the drawer. TheUSB hub allows the HEDs to be charged at a low rate while beingsynchronized with a computer and at a high rate when not beingsynchronized. The USB hub is designed using a tree structure ofavailable USB hub chips to enable a larger number of USB ports to beimplemented on a printed circuit board without designing and fabricatingan ASIC to handle the larger number of ports. A microcontroller isprovided to control the manner in which the computer is allowed torecognize the HEDs connected to the USB ports, so that not all of theHEDs are immediately visible to the computer when the computer isconnected to the USB hub.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the present invention are pointed out with particularity inthe appended claims. The present invention is illustrated by way ofexample in the following drawings in which like references indicatesimilar elements. The following drawings disclose various embodiments ofthe present invention for purposes of illustration only and are notintended to limit the scope of the invention. For purposes of clarity,not every component may be labeled in every figure. In the figures:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a cart for maintaining a largenumber of Handheld Electronic Devices (HEDs) according to an embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 2 is a back perspective view of the cart of FIG. 1 according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the cart of FIG. 1 with theroll-away front panel opened to access drawers configured to contain theHEDs according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the cart of FIG. 3 with one drawerextended according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of a drawer removed from the cartaccording to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of a drawer of FIG. 5 with aprotective cover removed to reveal an electronic circuit board in theinterior of the drawer according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the drawer of FIG. 6 according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 8 and 9 show an embodiment of an electrical circuit board 58configured to enable 20 HEDs to be charged and synchronized according toan embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 10 illustrates a cable that may be used to interconnect a HED withthe electrical circuit board.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description sets forth numerous specific detailsto provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be practicedwithout these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods,procedures, components, and dimensions have not been described in detailso as not to obscure the invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a cart 10 for maintaining a largenumber of Handheld Electronic Devices (HEDs) according to an embodimentof the invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the cart generally is formed as acabinet having wheels 12 that are configured to enable the cart to bemobile. The wheels may be castors such as the front wheels shown in FIG.1 or may be directionally fixed wheels such as the rear wheels shown inFIG. 1. Other types of wheels may be used as well and the invention isnot limited to the particular wheels shown in FIG. 1.

The interior of the cart is enclosed by a skin including a top panel 14,side panels 16, a back panel 18 (see FIG. 2), and a roll-away panel 20configured to slide in a channel 22 that extends from the bottom frontedge 24 of the cart 10 to the rear bottom edge 26 of the cart 10. Toopen the cart, the roll-away panel slides along the channel 22 from afront position in which the front of the cart is closed by the roll-awaypanel, to a back position in which the roll-away panel is located in thechannel along the rear side of the cart. By moving the roll-away panelalong the channel the front of the cart may be opened as shown in FIG.3.

The roll-away panel may be formed from a series of interlocking slatsthat are flexibly coupled to one another along their length (or atdefined positions along their length) to enable the slats to pivotlongitudinally relative to each other. Similar panels formed frommultiple slats have been used in desks such as roll-top desks, in whichwooden slats are used to enclose a top area of the desk. The slats inthe cart shown in FIG. 1 may be made of plastic, metal, or a combinationof materials depending on the particular implementation of the cart andthe invention is not limited to the particular materials used toimplement the roll-away panel of the cart.

The top panel 14 is basically flat, with the exception of a front lip 28and a rear lip 30. The front and rear lips are configured to define atop area on which a laptop computer or other computer may be placed whenconnecting to the handheld electronic devices contained within the cart10. The front and rear lips enable the top area to be defined such thatobjects placed on the top of the cart are less likely to fall off of thetop.

The cart may be provided with a handle 32 to enable a person topush/pull the cart when it is necessary to move the cart. The inventionis not limited to the particular handle structure shown in FIG. 1, asmany different handle structures may be used to implement embodiments ofthe invention.

The side panels 16 of the cart 10 may be perforated to enable theinterior of the cart to be ventilated. Other ventilation structures maybe used as well, such as venting channels as shown in co-pending U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/592,097, filed Nov. 2, 2006, and entitled“Computer Cart”. This patent also describes the structure of thedividers 46 and shelf 44 (described below), and other components thatmay be incorporated into the cart 10. The content of this patent and thedescription of these particular components is hereby incorporated hereinby reference

The rear panel 18, shown in greater detail in FIG. 2, may be providedwith one or more sets of hooks 34 designed to hold power cords and/orhooks 36 designed to computer cables. For example, a 9 foot long USBcable having two male ends (Type A male, Type B male) may be provided tointerconnect each drawer with a laptop computer or desktop computerstored in the cart or placed on top of the cart. The cable can beunwound from the hooks and plugged into a computer to enable thecomputer to connect to HEDs stored within the cart and connected to theUSB hub that forms part of the drawer. The USB hub aspect is describedin greater detail below. Other cables may be used as well and theinvention is not limited to use with particular USB cables. Optionallyan on/off switch 38 may also be provided to enable the cart to beplugged into a wall outlet and then selectively turned on/off to enablethe operator to determine when the HEDs stored within the cart should becharged.

The channel 22 may be integral with the frame forming part of thestructural support of the cart or may be a separate component that isconnected to a supporting frame. There are many ways of forming astructural frame for a cart such as the cart shown in FIG. 1, and theinvention is not limited to any particular frame structure. For example,FIG. 3 shows a portion of the frame structure 40 configured to provide aracking system to hold one or more drawers which are described ingreater detail below. The channel 22, in this embodiment, is thusconnected to the side panel 16, although the invention is not limited tothis particular embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows the internal structure of the cart according to anembodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the cart may containone or more drawers 42, each of which is configured to hold multipleHEDs. The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 has two drawers, however the cartmay have a larger or smaller number of drawers depending on theparticular needs of the institution that has ordered the cart. The cartmay also have one or more shelves 44 containing dividers 46 to enableone or more laptop computers to also be stored in the cart 10.Optionally, a power charging strip may be provided in the cart to enablethe computers to be plugged in to charge while stored in the cart 10.

The drawers 42 are disposed on glides 48 that will enable the drawer toextend out of the front opening of the computer cart. Providing drawersthat extend in this manner facilitates placement of the HEDs into thecart. Additional details of the drawer structure are provided in greaterdetail below.

The cart, according to an embodiment of the invention, may be designedto enable multiple HEDs to be updated with new information, such as froma laptop computer, and to also enable the multiple HEDs to be rechargedwhile stored in the cart. One manner in which this may occur isdescribed in greater detail below.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate an example drawer structure that may be used asthe drawers 42 in cart 10. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, thedrawer includes an edge band 50 defining a perimeter of the drawer.Holes 52 may be formed in the edge band 50 to enable the drawer to beattached to the glides 48. Other methods of attaching the glides may beused as well. The drawer may also include a bottom plate (not shown)defining a bottom of the drawer so that things placed within the drawerwill not fall out of the drawer. Alternatively the divider structure(described below) may be connected to the edge band and define thebottom of the drawer.

As shown in FIG. 5, a divider structure 54 is included in the drawer 42to define individual compartments sized to hold Handheld ElectronicDevices (HEDs). The divider structure may be implemented using a softmaterial such as foam or other cushioning material that will cushion theHEDs while they are maintained in the drawer to minimize the amount ofjarring that is transferred from the cart to the HEDs. Example HEDsinclude MP-3 players such as iPOD™ HEDs available from Apple ComputerCorp. and other types of HEDs. As new HEDs are developed, differentlysized dividers may be provided to securely hold the HEDs so that theymay be retained within the drawer in a safe and secure manner.

A central area of the drawer 56 contains an electrical circuit board 58shown in FIG. 6, to which the HEDs may be connected when placed in thedrawer. The electrical circuit board 58 may be covered by a cover 60(made of plastic, metal, or another material) to prevent accidentalcontact by a user. A rear enclosed area of the drawer may contain thepower supply components, such as a power transformer, that may be usedto step down the line current coming into the cart 10 from a walloutlet, and to condition the power for transmission to the circuitboard. Power supplies are well known in the art and the invention is notlimited to the use of a particular type of power supply.

The electrical circuit board, according to an embodiment of theinvention, is configured as a 20 port USB hub that will enable HEDsconnected to the electrical circuit board to be charged as well assynchronized with a laptop computer or other data source. Although a 20port hub will be described as being a preferred embodiment, theinvention is not limited to this particular hub as other numbers of USBports may be included on the USB hub. When the laptop computer isconnected to the board to synchronize the programs in the HEDs, thecircuit board is configured to charge the HEDs at a first, low rate.However, when the laptop computer is not connected to the board and theHEDs are therefore not being synchronized, the circuit board isconfigured to charge the HEDs at a faster rate by increasing the amountof power that is provided to the HEDs via the USB hub. For example, whenthe HEDs are being synchronized they may be charged at 100 milliamps,and when they are not being synchronized they may be charged at 500milliamps. By providing two different current levels, depending onwhether the HEDs are being synchronized, the HEDs may be quickly chargedor, alternatively, simultaneously synchronized and more slowly charged.

USB cables extending through slots in the cover 60 may be connected tothe USB hub within the central area and have free ends that allow theUSB cables to be available to connect to HEDs when disposed in thedrawer. The USB cable may have a stopper molded into the cable to holdthe cable relative to the cover so that lateral force exerted on thecable such as by pulling the cable will be transferred to the stopperrather than to the connection between the USB cable and the USB hub.FIG. 10 illustrates one example of a USB cable that may be used. Asshown in FIG. 10, the USB cable 100 has connectors 102 on each end. Theconnectors may be type A male and type B male connectors or may be otherconnectors specified according to the USB standard. Where a standardother than the USB standard is being used, the connectors may be formedaccording to that standard. A stopper 104 is formed intermediate the twoends and designed to engage a slot in the cover 60 such that the stopper104 will substantially prevent the cable from being pulled out of theslot beyond where the stopper is connected to the cable 100. Of course,given sufficient force, it may be possible to cause the cable to beyanked out of the cover 60—the stopper 104 is thus designed to inhibit aperson from inadvertently pulling too hard on the cable rather thanprohibit someone from intentionally yanking the cable out of the cover.The stopper 104 may be molded integral with the cable 100, may beconnected to the cable after creation, or otherwise adhered/attached tothe cable 100. The invention is not limited to the particular manner inwhich the stopper is attached to the cable. The stopper, in oneembodiment, is formed as a frusto-conical form having a conical formwith a base 106 and top 108 cut off parallel to the base.

FIGS. 8-9 show an embodiment of a 20 port USB hub 70 that will enablemultiple HEDs to be connected to a computer 72 so that the HEDs andcomputer may be synchronized. For example, the computer 72 may downloadcontent to the multiple HEDs simultaneously so that the content may beprovided to HED users. FIG. 9 shows an overview of the structure of theUSB hub 70 in which multiple smaller commercially available USB hubcircuits are arranged in a tree structure 71. By utilizing commerciallyavailable circuits in the unique tree-structure arrangement, it ispossible to implement a much larger port count USB hub than wouldotherwise be possible using a single USB hub ASIC. Although a 20 portUSB hub has been shown, the invention is not limited to animplementation that includes 20 ports as a hub having a differentnumbers of ports my be created using the same tree structure as well. Inpractice, the number of USB ports able to be implemented on a given hubmay be limited by the USB standard, although as the standard evolves thenumber may be increased.

In the tree structure 71 shown in FIG. 8, the tree has a root hub 76Aand two leaf hubs 76B and 76C. The invention is not limited to anembodiment having two leaf hubs as other numbers of leaf hubs may beused as well. Similarly, although the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 has onelayer of leaf hubs other layers of leaf hubs may be used as well. Forexample, in another embodiment it may be possible to chain another oneor more hubs off hub 76B or hub 76C to enable a larger number of hubs tobe chained together in the tree structure 71.

FIG. 9 shows the electrical circuit board 58 in greater detail, which isconfigured to enable 20 HEDs to be charged and synchronized according toan embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the electricalcircuit board 58 implements a 20 port USB hub 70 to enable a computer 72to connect to multiple HEDs 73 via output ports 74. According to anembodiment of the invention, a first 7 port USB hub 76A is chainedtogether with two other 7 USB hubs 76B and 76C to form a 20 port USB hubformed as a tree structure with 20 available output ports 74.

Specifically, the first USB 76A has an input port 78A and seven outputports 74A-74G. Output port 74D is connected to multiplexer 80 which hastwo outputs, a first of which connects to input port 78B on 7 port USBhub 76B and a second of which connects to input port 78C on 7 port USBhub 76C. 7 port USB hub 76A has six available output ports 74A-74C and74E-74G that may be used to connect with HEDs. Similarly, 7 port USB hub76B has seven output ports 74H-74N that may be used to connect with HEDsand 7 port USB hub 76C has seven output ports 74O-74U that may be usedto connect with HEDs. In total, therefore, there are 20 available outputports to connect with HEDs resulting in a 20 port USB hub.

The 7 port USB hubs 76A-C are commercially available ASICs. Thus, byusing several available chips and interconnecting the chips via amultiplexor 80, it was possible to implement a 20 port hub on anintegrated circuit board without going through the process of creating adedicated ASIC or FPGA to implement the 20 port hub. Although the 7 porthubs are described as having input ports and output ports, the USBstandard actually specifies bi-directional communication ports and, assuch, the commercially available ASICs that are used to implement the 7port USB hubs are actually bi-directional. They were labeled in and outbecause, when information is being passed from computer 72 to the 20port USB hub 70, data will flow via USB cable 86 into port 78A and outports 74A-74G. HEDs may be connected to ports 74A-74C and 74E-74G toreceive data from the computer 72. Data will also flow via port 74D toMUX 80 and from MUX 80 into ports 78B and 78C. The data will then flowout of ports 74H-74N and 74O-74U to arrive at any HEDs connected tothose ports. Thus, the labels applied to the ports are for convenienceof explanation and have no physical significance since data can flowinto and out of all of the ports.

The 20 port USB hub 70 according to an embodiment of the invention isconfigured to both synchronize and charge HEDs connected to ports 74. Amicrocontroller 82 is provided to control operation of the USB hub toenable the hub to operate differently depending on whether the HEDs arebeing synchronized or not. These two modes will be referred to herein assynchronizing mode and charging mode. During synchronizing mode content90 from the computer 72 is synchronized with HEDs connected to ports 74.The content may be moved from the computer to the HEDs, or received fromthe HEDs and stored in the computer. Although it is envisioned that thecontent would often be disseminated from the computer 72, the inventionis not limited in this manner as the hub may be used in myriad ways toenable the HEDs to exchange information. The synchronizing mode willtherefore refer to a mode in which data is being transmitted between thecomputer and HEDs, or between the HEDs themselves. During synchronizingmode a low power charge will also be available to the HEDs, such as 100milliamps.

Charging mode is the second mode of operation in which the amount ofpower transmitted to the HEDs is at a higher value, such as the maximumpower allowed under the USB standard (500 milliamps), when not in a syncmode of operation. To enable the USB hub 70 to switch between modes, themicrocontroller is programmed to sense when the computer 72 is attachedto port 78A. If the computer is attached to port 78A the microcomputer82 will cause the power controller 84 to provide 100 milliamps ofcharging power to each of the HEDs connected to the ports 74.Optionally, the power may also be provided to the computer 72 via port78A.

When the computer 72 is disconnected from the hub, the microcontrollerwill cause the hub 70 to enter charging mode, during which the powercontroller 84 is enabled to provide 500 milliamps of charging power toeach of the HEDs connected to the ports 74. Thus, the microcontrollermay enable the HEDs to be charged at a first, slower rate, while beingsynchronized with the computer 72 and cause the HEDs to be charged at asecond, faster rate, while not being synchronized with the computer 72.

When the computer 72 is plugged into the 20 port USB hub 70, anapplication 88 on the computer will recognize any HED that has beenplugged into one of the ports 74. For example, where the HEDs are iPods,an application such as iTunes may be used to recognize the HEDs. Theapplication may then be used as a synchronizing mechanism to enablecontent 90 to be synchronized from the computer to HEDs plugged into theports 74.

In operation, when HEDs are plugged into all of the ports and a computer72 is connected to the 20 port USB hub, the application 88 will need torecognize each of the devices that are attached to the output ports sothat it can communicate with them. Where there are too many HEDsconnected to the ports, the computer may not recognize all of thedevices correctly. Additionally, the process of recognizing 20 HEDs maycause the computer 72 to crash or cause the application 88 on thecomputer to freeze. According to an embodiment of the invention, themicrocontroller 82 contains software that will hold one of the USB hubs,such as Hub 76B or 76C, in reset mode for a short period of time afterthe computer 72 has been connected to the hub 70. By holding one or moreof the hubs 76B, 76C in reset mode, the number of HEDs visible to thecomputer may be reduced temporarily to schedule the manner in which theapplication 88 is required to recognize the HEDs. For example, themicrocontroller 82 may hold the 7 port USB hub 76C in reset for a periodof 30 seconds, and then release the reset to allow the application 88 torecognize the devices connected to the ports of that third hub. Byscheduling the time at which the application is allowed to recognizedevices connected to ports, the hub can provide visibility to manydevices in a staggered manner to provide the computer with time tocomplete the required process of recognizing the devices.

It should be understood that various changes and modifications of theembodiments shown in the drawings and described in the specification maybe made within the spirit and scope of the present invention.Accordingly, it is intended that all matter contained in the abovedescription and shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted in anillustrative and not in a limiting sense. The invention is limited onlyas defined in the following claims and the equivalents thereto.

1. A drawer for maintaining handheld electronic devices, comprising: anedge band defining a perimeter of the drawer; a divider structuredisposed within the drawer and defining a plurality of compartmentssized to hold the handheld electronic devices; a circuit boardimplementing a multi-port USB hub disposed in the drawer adjacent thedivider structure, the circuit board being configured to enable handheldelectronic devices disposed within the compartments of the dividerstructure to be both synchronized and charged; and a cover extendingabove the circuit board to protect the circuit board from contact by auser.
 2. The drawer of claim 1, further comprising apertures in the edgeband for connecting to glides that may be used to enable the drawer toextend out of or slide into an enclosure.
 3. The drawer of claim 1,wherein the circuit board is disposed in a central area of the drawer.4. The drawer of claim 1, wherein the cover has a plurality of slitssized to enable cords to extend from the circuit board to thecompartments so that the handheld electronic devices may be connected tothe circuit board.
 5. The drawer of claim 1, further comprising a rearenclosure sized to contain power supply components that may be used tostep down line current supplied to the drawer to be provided to thecircuit board.
 6. A drawer for maintaining handheld electronic devices,comprising: an edge band defining a perimeter of the drawer; a dividerstructure disposed within the drawer and defining a plurality ofcompartments sized to hold the handheld electronic devices; and acircuit board implementing a multi-port USB hub disposed in the draweradjacent the divider structure, the circuit board being configured toenable handheld electronic devices disposed within the compartments ofthe divider structure to be both synchronized and charged; wherein thedivider structure is made of a soft material designed to prevent jarringmovement of the drawer from being transferred from the drawer to thehandheld electronic devices.
 7. A storage cart for maintaining handheldelectronic devices, comprising: an outer enclosure defining an interiorarea of the storage cart; a drawer to hold at least a subset of thehandheld electronic devices while the handheld electronic devices aremaintained within the storage cart, the drawer being slidably containedwithin the interior area of the storage cart to selectively extend outof the interior area of the storage cart to provide access to thehandheld electronic devices and to retract into the interior area of thestorage cart; the drawer comprising: an edge band defining a perimeterof the drawer; a divider structure disposed within the drawer anddefining a plurality of compartments sized to hold the handheldelectronic devices; a circuit board implementing a multi-port USB hubdisposed in the drawer adjacent the divider structure, the circuit boardbeing configured to enable handheld electronic devices disposed withinthe compartments of the divider structure to be both synchronized andcharged; and a cover extending above the circuit board to protect thecircuit board from contact by a user.